WS Chronicle

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican and the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, has introduced a resolution to honor veterans who served in Vietnam by designating March 29 as “Vietnam Veterans Day.”

March 29 marks the anniversary of the day that combat and combat support units withdrew completely from South Vietnam.

“Despite serving honorably and bravely in Vietnam, our soldiers arrived home to a country in political turmoil and never received the recognition they deserved,” Burr said. “By setting March 29th aside as a day to remember and thank our Vietnam veterans, we can show our unified gratitude for their service and the sacrifices they made on our behalf.”

Burr, a Winston-Salem resident and Wake Forest University alumnus, is encouraging communities throughout the country to take measures to commemorate this day by honoring Vietnam veterans in their area. This is the third consecutive year that Senator Burr has introduced a resolution for the establishment of “Vietnam Veterans Day.” His colleague Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) co-sponsored the legislation.

The US Armed Forces began serving in an advisory role to the South Vietnamese in 1950; in 1965, ground combat troops were sent into Vietnam. U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam on March 29, 1973, under the terms of the Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, commonly known as the Paris Peace Accords. More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost their lives and more than 300,000 were wounded in Vietnam.